by Terry L. Besser
Assistant Professor and Extension Sociologist
Iowa State University
Kittens and puppies are lovable. Babies are lovable. Lovables are cute and innocent. They inspire affection and loyalty. You can tell right away if something (or someone) is lovable. You don't need to "really get to know them" to tell. Very few adults of any species, but especially adult humans, are lovable. They're just too complicated and devious. Given the meaning of lovable, how can the term possibly apply to communities?
Bill Steiner, assistant director of the South Carolina Downtown Development Association, believes that people want their communities to be lovable, not just livable. By that he means that people want to live in a community that inspires loyalty and devotion. He says that lovable communities fulfill a great unsatisfied craving within people.
What makes a community lovable? First according to Steiner, communities have to be visually pleasing to be lovable. The beauty evident in lovable communities builds upon the historic roots of the community and includes natural themes consistent with the surrounding landscape. Incorporating the historical legacy of a place into existing architectural and landscape designs helps people develop a sense of rootedness and permanence in what is often viewed as a world out of control with change. Green spaces, flowers, trees, river walks, hiking trails, parks, and landscape murals provide visual and psychological relief and a feeling of connection with nature.
Steiner's second feature of lovable communities is that they provide social interaction. Lovable communities offer many opportunities for people to get together casually and become better acquainted, to learn what's happening in each others' lives. The vision many of us have of the traditional community is one where people sit on their front porch or picnic in the park and have time to visit with each other. The casual, relaxed nature of front porch rockers invites others to join.
Today, it's more common in neighborhoods to see no one. Either people are too busy to have time to be outside visiting, they're inside watching television or they're out in back on the deck, a place more isolated from casual neighborhood interaction than the front porch was. The design of homes, neighborhoods and downtowns can encourage social interaction by providing inviting places for people to unwind and gather together.
Places are important, but events and organizations also serve a function in facilitating social interaction within a community. Festivals celebrate the unique identity of a place, usually emphasizing a community achievement, a historic or cultural theme, or a national event, and furnish people with the occasion to renew their acquaintanceships and have fun with each other. Local civic organizations and churches, to the extent that they hold friendly attitudes toward non-members and welcome newcomers, afford opportunities for people in a community to build relationships with each other.
For newcomers, or people who differ from the majority racial, ethnic and religious group in the community, an important consideration is the willingness of the community to interact with and accept outsiders into the mainstream of community life. Steiner's lovable communities are inclusive. That is, they are accepting of and friendly to residents regardless of how long they've lived in the community or whether they have a last name inherited from one of the city founders.
People who live in lovable communities have a sense of shared values. They share the values of mutual respect for each other, and an appreciation for the history, culture and social arrangements of the town. Working from this base, residents can express, discuss and debate other values like the importance of children, education, downtown shopping, etc.
Let's consider again the odd use of the adjective "lovable" to describe communities. It's true that communities are not cute and innocent, but they do have personalities. Some towns are uninspiring. They're just places where people's houses happen to be. Others are the kind of place we'd really hate to move away from - or if we don't live in one, they're the places we like to visit and hope to retire in. Communities are like living beings in a sense; as such they can change. Attention to visual pleasantness, opportunities for social interaction and celebration, and acceptance of newcomers can help communities become lovable. If Steiner is correct and people really do crave lovable communities, then it is important for citizens to express that need and act to make it so.
Contacts:
Terry L. Besser, ISU
Extension Sociology, (515) 294-6508
Del Marks, ISU Extension
Communication Systems, (515) 294-9807
